Retinoblastoma
Uploaded by LANCEGIRL85 on Oct 18, 2001
Victims of retinoblastoma are infants and toddlers under the age of five years old. Many victim's symptoms indicate they have this cancer. Many symptoms are: that the pupil is observed to be wite, or, if the eye turns outward toward the ear. Children that have retinoblastoma may also have a red, painful eye, poor vision, inflammation of tissue surrounding the eye, an enlarged or dialated pupil, different colored irises. The number one cause of retinoblastoma is from heredity, but many researchers still have questions on how else the cancer comes to play without the heredity side.
If a patient's parent is fully aware of the child's eye the pediatrician will then take the child in for a full eye examination. Some retinoblastoma patients may laso have extra fingers or toes, malformed ears, or even retardation. On rare occasions, retinoblastoma is discovered on a well-baby examination.
Every year, one out of every fifteen to thirty thousand children are affected by retinoblastoma. Children are affected in either one eye (unilateral) or in both eyes (bilateral). In most cases (over 75%) the cancer is only involved in one eye; the rest are affeted in both eyes. Most retinoblastoma patients have no famly history of the disease; only 10% do have other family members with retinoblastoma. Approximately, only twenty-five to thirty people actually die from retinoblastoma in the United States annually.
The prognosis of someone with retinoblastoma can greatly change depending on where the tumor is located and if it has spread to other parts of the body. The tumor is classified according to how dangerous it is. Usually the pediatrician can tell by how serious the tumor is by how far it has spread, if the tumor is still contained in the eye there are many treatments that the patient can choose form. But, if the disease has spread throughout hte body into the brain then the tumor(s) is treated with chemotherapy.
Retinoblastoma can be treated with many options. The treatment depends upon the age of the child, the involvement of one or both eyes, and whether or not the cancer has spread to other parts of the body. No treatment may mean that the child would die. Most goals for treatment from most to least impport ranking are: saving the child's life, maintaining the eye and vision, and preserving cosmetic appearance. THe most common form of treatment for retinoblastoma is enucleation. During an enucleation the eye...